


early spring

by orphan_account



Category: Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, Out of Character, a lil, also kinda short eee, basically au where the events on the island never took place teehee, hand holding teeheehehehe, i just wanted to write happy jalph!!!!!!!, kinda happy yaknow, repressed feelings.. lots of repressed feelings..., sigh, theyre cute!!!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:09:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27675835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Closeness keeps warmth,” Jack looked over at him, “It’s okay, don’t be embarrassed.”Ralph gulped, “I’m not embarrassed,” he said giving Jack an awkward, crooked smile. He decided to start walking before he said anything he’d regret.-In which Ralph forgets his jacket at home and has to walk in the cold. At least he's not alone.
Relationships: Jack Merridew/Ralph
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	early spring

The warmth inside his home felt comforting, whereas the frost on the window looked uninviting. Although the snow was just starting to melt, it was still cold and bleak outside. Almost good enough weather to enjoy a walk, but not quite. It would be a few weeks until going to school would be enjoyable. 

Jack let out a brief sigh. He was trying to enjoy the coziness of his own home while it lasted, that being it would only last approximately ten more minutes. He sunk into the couch, resting his feet onto the coffee table directly in front of him. His eyes softly fluttered shut. He wasn’t going to sleep, he just needed a couple seconds of rest. Like every other teenager, Jack also seemed to be sleep deprived. Too much homework, too much studying. God, he hated it all so much. He especially hated having to be in the stupid boys’ choir. He’s been enrolled for a while now, and has yet to enjoy any part of it. He wished he enjoyed it as much as his peers did. They all look so excited when singing. Everyone told him how well he was doing but the praise never truly satisfied him. Jack fell deep into thought while sitting in his cramped living room. Ranting to himself mentally made the time fly by.

Suddenly there was a loud sequence of knocking at Jack’s door. His whole body shook as his eyes shot open. He nearly had a goddamn heart attack! Who the hell would be knocking on doors this early in the morning? He stared at the door, taking deep breaths trying to call himself down. He was hoping the person who knocked left but the intense bangs continued. He made a very annoyed noise to himself before getting up and making his way to the door. He was hesitant to open it at first, but he did it anyway. His annoyed expression shifted as soon as he noticed the younger blond boy standing in front of him. The silence between them was short-lasting. 

“What’re you doing here, Ralph? Don’t you need to start walking to school?” He said with a raised eyebrow. He tried his best not to look displeased with his friend.

“Well, that’s exactly why I’m here!” Ralph chuckled, “I thought maybe we should walk together?” He looked up at Jack with awake and excited eyes.

It took Jack a few seconds to respond. He knew he couldn’t turn down his offer, but he would much rather walk alone in weather like this. He also noticed Ralph wasn’t even wearing a jacket, just his school uniform. It’s bloody freezing outside, how does he just forget his jacket?

“Sure,” he paused, “Are you ready to go? Like right now?” he had a slightly concerned expression planted on his face.

“Yeah! I mean if we don’t leave now we will probably be late for school. Why wouldn’t I be ready?” he cocked his head slightly to the side. 

“No reason, just wondering,” he thought it’d be best if he didn’t mention anything about Ralph’s absent jacket.

Neither of them added anything else to the conversation. Ralph started moving and motioned for Jack to come outside. Jack quickly grabbed his own coat before running out the door slamming behind him to follow Ralph. He slid on the icy pavement, forgetting about the whole weather thing momentarily. Thankfully Ralph caught him by his arm before he could faceplant. Ralph giggled at this near-death experience while Jack looked mortified, like he saw his life flash before his eyes. 

“You okay big man?” Ralph said, snorting this time rather than giggling.

Jack glared at him for a long moment, “Yes.. I’m fine,” he pulled away from Ralph's grip on his arm and straightened up, dusting off where his hand had been. This was the second time today he was scared nearly to death. He took a long, deep breath and started to walk at a normal pace, his friend not far behind him. He could hear Ralph trying not to burst out in laughter. As much as he was irritated, Ralph trying not to laugh made him crack a small smile. 

The younger squinted at Jack, “You have to admit that was hilarious.”

“I don’t have to admit anything,” the ginger smiled harder. Ralph kept giving him suspicious looks until finally he nodded and let it go. 

-

They had been walking for around seven minutes, mainly still and quiet air between the two. There was about fifteen long, freezing minutes left. Jack had his hands in his coat pockets, his eyes wandering and appreciating the scenic path they were taking. The trees that were around him still had lingering snow on and around them. As much as he hated winter, the visuals were always really stunning. The ground was still a blinding white, even while half melted; he didn’t mind. He didn’t mind at all.

Jack almost forgot about Ralph walking with him. He looked behind his shoulder to check on his friend. Ralph was holding himself, shivering. His mouth chattering loudly as he looked extremely uncomfortable. Jack turned around swiftly and placed his hands on Ralph's shoulders to prevent him from moving any further. He glanced up, looking back at him.

“Why didn’t you bring a goddamn jacket?” he said, a hint of frustration lingering in his voice. 

“I forgot it..? I only remembered once I got to your place,” he was stumbling over his words, “I thought I would be fine.” 

“You’re such a fucking idiot sometimes,” his head fuzzy with agitation, “for the love of god, please remember to take care of yourself, Ralph,” he huffed. He knew how blunt that sounded, but sometimes you need to be blunt.

Ralph hesitantly nodded, trying to appease to him. Jack took a small step back and held out his hand to Ralph. He kept it out there, waiting for Ralph to take his hand; Ralph just stared at him. Looking at his face and back to his hand.

“C’mon and take my hand, we don’t have all day.”

Ralph could feel his face heat up; even though his face was already red from being cold. Thank God he thought to himself. He finally gave in and put his hand on top of Jack’s. He jolted once Jack locked their fingers together; he’s never held hands with anyone like this. This was not how friends normally held hands, at least from what he normally saw. Platonic hand holding was normal, but the locked fingers didn’t feel platonic. He had a weird feeling in his gut that he forced himself to ignore. It was awfully hard to push away once Jack pushed his side against his own. They were extremely close to one another. This was such an odd feeling, he almost wanted to throw up from it. He couldn’t quite name what he was experiencing, he really wished he could. It was eating away at him.

“Closeness keeps warmth,” Jack looked over at him, “It’s okay, don’t be embarrassed.”

Ralph gulped, “I’m not embarrassed,” he said giving Jack an awkward, crooked smile. He decided to start walking before he said anything he’d regret. 

The air gradually became less tense as they walked together. Their hands seemed to melt into each other, the feeling of their fingers being intertwined was serene. The clammy nervousness would fade away as their legs kept moving them forward. Every so often they would catch each other staring. Quickly darting their eyes away to try and avoid any confrontation. Jack stared the most, though. He was admiring everything about the smaller boy's features. How his cheeks were tinted a soft rose. His eyes were delicate yet stern, his eyelashes the same color as his hair. He couldn’t take his focus away from him. Ralph had him in a trance without knowing it. Jack wished he were aware. He wanted to be seen the same. He knew deep down those feelings wouldn’t reciprocate but just thinking about the possibility kept him content. 

They would soon arrive at school, having to awkwardly unlock their fingers from each other. Eye contact was off the table, that would just heighten the tenseness between them. Instead, they both hoped to God no one had seen them hold hands. The fact that they both enjoyed it was something that neither of them could openly discuss. If they can’t even talk about it, imagine how bad it would be for other people to witness. The butterflies in their stomachs turned into a gross feeling, like the butterflies were about to be thrown up in a pile of stomach acid. They were both shivering with sickness. This sickness was unnamed, but it was also well known. It affected everyone differently, but for these two lucky fellows it meant confusion and repressed feelings that neither of them knew how to address.

**Author's Note:**

> It's been over a year since I've uploaded anything a a aaa aaaaaa..... this is rlly short and shitty!!!! I know!!!!! I'm going to try and write more..,,, I promiiissseeee,,,, might write a sequel to this fic tho I have some ideas teeheeeheheheh


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